Beyond Tomorrow: Some Not So Special Effectsby Lady Liberty
Memorial Day marks not just the start of summer for many, but the
start of the summer movie season for Hollywood. Traditionally, there
are a couple of major action or disaster flicks that open on
Memorial Day Weekend, and this year's offering in that genre is the
critically maligned The Day After Tomorrow. In the case of this film, however, there's much more
at stakeor at least, some assert that there is much more at stakethan
a diverting couple of hours in a movie theatre.
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Anyone But Bush! Why Die-hard Kerry Supporters should support Badnarikby Travis Pahl
We are a nation divided. The last presidential election was one of
the closest in US history and despite major changes in the world and
country in the past 4 years; this election looks to be just as close
as the last. What this means is that every vote matters. Every vote
we can take away from George Bush brings Kerry one-step closer to
winning the election.
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Eric Dondero Rittberg, The Real-Life "Master Shake"?by Mike Blessing
For a few months now, I've been a fan of a cartoon series called "Aqua
Teen Hunger Force." Think of it as a sophisticated, surreal Beavis and
Butthead, or a really gross form of South Park. Either way, it's pretty
funny (it helps to have a twisted sense of humor). You might want to
check out the show's page on adultswim.com, as I'll be referring to
it in a moment:
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"The Economics of Sitting Ducks"by Alan R. Weiss
All these people demanding war, let them shoulder an M16 and stand a
post. If that were the case, Americans would quickly find a different
way to prosecute the war on terror.
All these people who insist "we" must "fight this war", do so by proxy
with soldiers underpaid and clearly undertrained. Those soldiers are
not only victims of bad policy, they're economic victims, too.
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Is This the Battle of Pelennor Fields?by Ron Beatty
Just last weekend, I finally got the chance to watch Return of the
King for the first time, since I don't go to theaters very often
anymore. I enjoyed the movie very much, but saw some disturbing
parallels to this election season in it. Now, this might just be
because I'm a weird old bear, but hear me out, and let's just see what
you think.
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Courageby Kaptain Kanada, aka Manuel Miles
The word "courage" comes from the Middle French. It means "having
the strength that comes from the heart" and its root word is "le
coeur", or "the heart". In wartime the imperial State and its
various minions (mis)use this word frequently, yet they are never
eager to discuss its meaning. But we shall.
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An Open Letter to George W. Bush
Detention, treatment, and trial of alleged terroristsby Bill St. Clair
Mr. President:
¶The photographs of torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu
Ghraib prison have shocked the world. They shocked you as well, as
you clearly expressed by saying, "Such practices do not reflect our
values." I agree. Such practices appear to be more widespread than
one prison in Iraq, however. Prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay
have also told stories of torture, deprivation, and humiliation to
which no human being should ever be subjected, certainly not at the
hands of the United States, the world's moral leader. And more
horrific accounts surface every day.
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So You Want To Be A Marijuana Farmer?by Matthew Bryan
Let's fantasize of an across-the-board legalization of marijuana by
the federal government. Stop laughing and set aside all of the
improbabilities of such fantasia for now. Our purpose is to examine
the ramifications of legalizing a substance that, in the past
century, has infected our federal masters with an arguably
unprecedented messianic zeal and unslakeable thirst for moralistic
discipline. That such a rollback of federal marijuana statutes could
ever occur amidst the current climate of rampant general paranoia
and loathing of all things even slightly subversive is, indeed,
laughable. But we soldier on. In fact, it is in the spirit of living
during a time of most oppressive fear and loathing where we may
begin. Assume all is the same, except we are now free to cultivate
and smoke pot with impunity. Let's see how this might play out.
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Sympathy for accuseds or accusers?by Wendy McElroy
How do you distinguish a credible accusation from a false one?
That question is constantly in the news. It was raised recently by
reports on Bridget Marks, the ex-Playboy model who lost custody of
her twin daughters because she coached them
to testify that their estranged father was a child molester. A
false accusation naturally raises the level of skepticism with which
we view anyone who claims victimhood. But the public's increasing
tendency to routinely dismiss the claims of alleged victims can be a
cruel way for public opinion to approach heartbreaking stories of abuse.
 FULL STORY

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